Monocle Radio Podcast (September 30, 2024):Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, was killed in a huge Israeli air attack on Beirut. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says that the assassination will change the balance of power in the region. What happens next?
Also in the programme: Mexico bids farewell to Andrés Manuel López Obrador and welcomes its first-female president, Claudia Sheinbaum; Russia eyes a satellite deal in West Africa; and Jakarta braces for a mayoral election. Plus, we discuss the UN’s meeting on the “slow-motion pandemic” and we head to Ibiza Town for a gastronomic tour.
After the 2006 war with Hezbollah, Israel invested heavily to intercept the group’s communications and track its commanders in a shadowy war that ultimately led to the killing of the group’s leader.
The escalation of violence between Israel and Iran-backed proxies across the Middle East threatened to bring the combatants closer to an all-out regional war.
Eau Claire had a plan. But opponents, mostly from rural areas, were convinced that the newcomers would destroy their Midwestern way of life.
Trump Allies Bombard the Courts, Setting Stage for Post-Election Fight
Republicans are filing a barrage of election lawsuits in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. The cases may be a road map for a legal battle over the results.
Monocle on Saturday (September 28, 2024): The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly concluded this week but what did it achieve? What can we expect from Keir Starmer’s meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday?
And what is behind the surge in popularity of South Korean skincare in the UK? Georgina Godwin and international broadcast correspondent, Nina dos Santos, discuss this and more of the week’s news and culture. Plus: Monocle’s Gunnar Gronlid attends the opening of the world’s first commercial CO2 capture-and-storage facility in Norway, and we get the latest on The Book Hive, a UK-based independent bookshop and publisher, with the owner, Henry Layte.
Monocle Radio Podcast (September 27, 2024): As international calls grow louder for a three-week ceasefire in Lebanon, Allison Kaplan Sommer joins Georgina Godwin to discuss the likelihood of a pause in fighting.
Plus: Monocle’s Christopher Cermak looks ahead to the Austrian elections and Karen Krizanovich joins us for the latest in the world of film.
In the space of a few days, the focus of Israeli military operations appears to have shifted decisively from Gaza in the south to Lebanon in the north.
A dizzying escalation between Israel and Hezbollah began last week with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies and culminated in a ferocious Israeli bombardment of alleged Hezbollah military targets, killing hundreds of people.
With Iran’s support, the Lebanon-based Shia militia has conducted a background conflict with Israel since the 1980s. Is this the intensification that finally signals all-out war?
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
1
Spotlight | The brutal truth behind Italy’s migrant reduction A Guardian investigation reveals EU money goes to forces involved in abuse, leaving people to die in the desert and colluding with smugglers
2
Technology | Why aren’t humanoids in our homes yet? The development of robots is dogged by technical and safety challenges. But the dream of a multipurpose domestic droid lives on, writes Victoria Turk
3
Feature | An Israeli and a Palestinian discuss 7 October, Gaza – and the future Could Couples Therapy’s Orna Guralnik and former participant Christine try to understand one another without the conversation breaking down?
4
Opinion | Zelenskyy needs Biden to back his plan to win peace In besieged Kharkiv, Timothy Garton Ash saw how Ukraine is approaching a perilous moment. To turn the tide, it needs to decisively knock back Russia
5
Culture | Chappell Roan on sexuality, superstardom and the joy of drag She’s gone from obscurity to the A-list, but not without struggle. Kate Solomon talks to the singer about teenage angst and her queer inspirations
A top Israeli military official hinted to soldiers of a possible ground invasion as the United States and France drafted a cease-fire proposal to try to stave off a broader conflict.
The son-in-law of former President Donald J. Trump has said he has intentionally moved slowly to invest investors’ money, which came primarily from foreign entities.
The United Arab Emirates is expanding a covert campaign to back a winner in Sudan’s civil war. Waving the banner of the Red Crescent, it is also smuggling weapons and deploying drones.
The alliance between Kamala Harris and Laurene Powell Jobs is a genuine friendship that has thrust the press-shy billionaire philanthropist into the political spotlight.
Monocle Radio Podcast (September 25, 2024): Joe Biden delivers his final address as US president on “how the world should come together”; attacks across the border between Lebanon and Israel escalate; and why union leaders at Boeing have rejected a “best and final offer”.
Plus: we have the latest on the US election and headlines from the world of technology.
Israel said it was striking Hezbollah targets with “high intensity” to keep the campaign as short as possible, as the Lebanese militants maintained their own cross-border barrage.
In his final U.N. speech, President Biden framed his decision to drop his bid for re-election as a lesson that “some things are more important than staying in power.”
Democrats see an opportunity to win over right-leaning Americans who have recoiled from Donald Trump. The challenge is coaxing them off the sidelines.
These Maternity Homes Offer Sanctuary, but It Can Feel Oppressive
Unregulated homes are proliferating amid abortion restrictions and a housing crunch. Some limit residents’ movements, contacts and day-to-day decisions.
Monocle Radio Podcast (September 24, 2024): Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders make their case in New York and Washington; the US helps Taiwan make China-proof drones; why the Swiss object to biodiversity; and Australia’s supermarket scandal.
Plus: the curator of Dundee Design Week.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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